Angular structural unit and assembly



y 1939- a. F. KOTRBATY 2,166,098

ANGULAR STRUCTURAL UNIT A ND ASSEMBLY Original Filed 001;. l, 1935INVENTOR Guy F. Koh'baty ATTORNEY Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ANGULAR STRUCTURAL UNIT AND' ASSEMBLY poration of DelawareOriginal application October 1, 1935, Serial No.

Divided and this application October 4, 1937, Serial No. 167,245

2 Claims. (Cl. 189-3 1) This invention relates to improvements inbuilding construction systems and elements therefor.

This application is a division of my application 5 Ser. No. 43,017,filed Oct. 1, 1935, for Composite building construction units andsupporting members, allowed January 21, 1937, and issuing as Patent No.2,094,607, on October 5, 1937.

The improvements of the present invention re- .10 late more in detail tomodified structural supporting and keying members and self-supportingstructural wall members of the type described generally in my Patent No.1,968,045 of July 31, 1934, and Patent No. 1,965,601, of July 15 10,1934, and cognate applications and patents, Patent No. 2,017,441, ofOctober 15, 1935; Patent No. 1,987,115, of January 8, 1935; Patent No.1,995,477, of March 26, 1935; Patent No. 1,993,- 791, of March 12, 1935,and application Ser. No.

20 29,820, allowed April 30, 1937.

The present invention is particularly directed to angular wall jointsand elements therefor, and to structural assemblies including the same.

In addition the novel improvements of the present invention includeprovision for the utilization of preformed panelling of various types,with or without the use of associated structural hardenable plasticmaterials bonded and applied to supporting panel members.

30 These and other desirable features will be described in theaccompanying specification and illustrated in the drawing, certainpreferred forms being shown by way of illustration only, for, since theunderlying features may be incorporated in other specific structuralassemblies, it is not intended to be limited to the ones here shown,except as such limitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

In the drawing, like numerals refer to similar 40 parts throughout theseveral views, of which Fig. l is a horizontal section through an angleunit for corners and associated wall units, and

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the vertical aspect of thestructure shown in Fig. l.

45 Angular wall sections or joints, as contemplated in the presentinvention, may be formed by attaching an angular guide or base member35l to one side of each of a pair of abutted channel-shaped stud andkeyway members to 50 space them in a desired angular relation. The

space between the legs formed by the stud sections 3! may be closed bypanel members a of suitable material and desirably of ribbed lath, withthe ribs ll0b extending vertically. The angular structural unit 350,thus formed, may be secured in and between wall units I00 to give anangular Wall section.

The wall units and associated keying and locking stud members with whichthe angular units 350 may be associated include composite struc-' 5tural stud and key members. The stud members form end sections of Wallunitsand are joined together and held by the key members. The keymembers 200, are of generally tubular shape, and are provided with acontinuous longitudinal slot on one side thereof. The key members 200are also provided with diametrically opposed, external longitudinalchannels 202 coextensive in length therewith. The side walls, 203, ofthe keying members 200 may be flat, as 5 shown, or they may have aplurality of circular or partially circular shapes.

The keying members are adapted to lock end sections 300 ofself-supporting units I00 formed of spaced panel members I 10, securedin any de- 20 sired manner to the end sections. The improved endsections 300 comprise channel members having a body or base portion 30!,side flanges 302 provided with a double bend 320 forming parallel sidewalls which terminate in inturned edge members 304 substantiallyparallel to the base member L The members 304 are adapted to be fittedin and engaged by the channel portions 202 of the keying members. Itwill be seen that when a pair of abutted building units I00 30 havetheir respective gripping or locking flanges 304 abutted together, thata keying member 200 may be slid in place between the end sections, 300,of the units, the sections 304 of the end members being fitted in andlocked by the channels 202 of the keys. Due to the accordion pleatformation of the folds or sections 320 of the inturned sides of members300, a desired spring grip action is assured, and the keys and abuttedspring grip flanges usually coact to hold each 0 other together in apositive, locked relation.

The panel members H0 of the self-supporting unit members, I00, may, asindicated above, be secured to or fastened on to the spacing end sectionor parallel keyways in any suitable man- 5 ner, as by welding, brazing,soldering, or they may be riveted, clipped, bolted or screwed and wired,all as indicated generally at 305. The panels H0 may comprise sheetmembers of a variety of materials such as structural plastic 0 materialsincluding phenolic condensation products of the type known commerciallyunder the trade name of Bakelite, gypsum plastics, concrete sheetmembers, enameled metal plate 7 members, composition wall board panels,ex- '5 panded or pressed metal lath or paper-backed Wire lath, and sheetmetal members of various gauges, depending upon the structural strengthdesired and the finish to be secured. These materials may also be usedin combination with a backing or surfacing of aluminum foil, or anyother insulating material, such as Celotex, Mafia grass board, Masonite,mineral or glass wool, Bakelite-impregnated paper, or paper-basematerials. In addition, Where hardenable plastic materials such as thelime plasters, gypsum plasters, and the like, are to be applied as wallfinishes, the panel members llll may comprise, as noted above, ribbed,plain, expanded, or pressed sheet metal.

The combination of the improved keys 200 with the novel spacing supports300 permits the formation of improved structural members formingcomposite studs and stanchions in the angular joint connections herein,the several parts of which coact to support each other and to formstrong sustaining members. A desirable feature of this construction, andone of marked utility in building, resides in the fact that certain ofthe structural composite stud members may be incorporated as endsections of self-supporting units for use in, angles of building walls,which units are adapted to be preformed and can be assembled readily inplace in a building, being permanently secured by the key members 200,which, in themselves form tubular or substantially tubular structuralsupporting members. Thus, it will be seen that each of the sections ofthe composite stud structure exerts its own supporting function in thecomposite, and that no part of the composite structures can beconsidered or classed as non-load-supporting members.

It will be appreciated now that there has been provided an improvedbuilding construction, including novel angular composite building unitsand composite stud and support members. In addition, there have beenprovided novel mechanical means for keying and joining wall unitstogether in an angular, mechanically rigid joint, and in a simple yetefficient manner, and in which the various parts and elements areadapted to be abutted and quickly and permanently secured. The novelimprovements of the present invention also include an improved methodfor assembling novel structural parts of the present invention.

The various features and combinations of structural parts have beenshown herein by way of illustration only, and it is intended to claimall parts as broadly novel, particularly in their new combinations,insofar as the state of the art will allow.

What is claimed is:

1. A building construction, including an array of self supportingbuilding units and having wall sections formed of abutted units,including spaced panel sections and end stud sections of everted channelshape having inturned spring gripping flanges and keying members inengagement with gripping flanges of juxtaposed units, the panel membersof the units including horizontal ribbed sections imparting structuralstrength and rigidity thereto; angular joint units associated with andjoined to wall units, the angular units including an angular structuralmember forming one face of the unit and a panel member of greater widththan angular member forming the other face of the angular unit, the saidpanel member being vertically ribbed to permit bending through any arc.

2. In building units for non-rectilinear wall constructions comprisingan angular structural member forming one face of a unit, la panel mem-1,

her of greater projected width than the angular member and forming theother face of the unit, and channel-shaped stud sections of compositestud members secured across and spacing the edges of the face members,the improvements comprising vertically ribbed panel members.

GUY F. KOTRBA'I'Y.

